‘Two meals is hardly a habit darlin’ and I insist.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Olivia argued.
‘I certainly can as it’s my business.’
‘You won’t have much of a business left if you keep giving away free meals.’
‘Don’t you worry about me love, I do just fine,’ he smiled. ‘Now I’ll go see about that cab.’
As he disappeared she felt, rather than saw, someone move to stand next to her. Looking up, her back stiffened and her expression shut down, turning cold, and unwelcoming.
‘Chief,’ she spoke stiffly.
Chief Walcott glanced down at her from under the brim of his hat. His face was carefully neutral, but underneath she could detect traces of disdain. His eyes narrowed as he rested his hand casually on his gun belt.
‘Miss West.’
‘What am I supposed to have done now?’ Olivia sighed.
‘Where were you this afternoon?’ he asked bluntly.
‘That’s none of your business,’ she shrugged.
‘I’m making it my business.’
He leaned closer, his manner intimidating, and placing one hand on the table in front of her, and the other on the back of the booth, he effectively caged her in. ‘Now, where were you?’
‘And I said, it’s none of your business,’ she pronounced each word slowly, and carefully, as if talking to a slightly dim ten year old. ‘I’m not scared of you Chief, so quit trying to bully me.’
‘Keep speaking to me like that Ms West and I will arrest you,’ he warned dangerously.
‘On what grounds?’
‘Impeding an investigation.’
‘Good luck making that stick,’ she laughed humorlessly. ‘Listen very carefully Chief because I dislike having to repeat myself. Leave me alone or I will take up my lawyer’s suggestion to sue both you, and your department, and that is not an idle threat. Believe me, I’m a lot wealthier than I look, and I am more than capable of putting my money where my mouth is. If you continue to harass me I will slap you with a lawsuit, after which you’ll be lucky to walk away with the shirt on your back.’
‘Go ahead,’ he sneered, ‘you think I care about money? I’m more than willing to take my chances if it means making you pay for what you’ve done.’
‘Don’t you mean, making me pay for what my father has done?’ she whispered in disgust.
‘Just what is it you think you know? he grated through clenched teeth.
‘Nothing,’ she smiled coolly.
‘Let me make myself clear, as we seem to be laying our cards on the table. I know you are working with your father, and as far as I’m concerned, you will both pay for what you have done, whatever it takes.’
‘The ends justify the means?’ she snorted, ‘that’s your reasoning?’
‘I will ask you one last time, and then we are taking this discussion down to the police station,’ his eyes flashed impatiently. ‘Where were you this afternoon?’
‘She was with me,’ Theo’s voice was low and dangerous behind the chief.
He straightened up, and stiffly turned towards Theo, his eyes cold, and narrow.
‘And what we did,’ Theo continued, ‘was private.’
Chief Walcott’s jaw clenched as he glared hatefully at Theo.
‘Is there a problem here gentleman,’ Jackson casually wandered over.
‘No,’ Theo folded his arms across his chest as he looked down at the chief. ‘There’s no problem, is there?’
Olivia couldn’t help it, but part of her curled with lust at the sight of Theo towering over the chief with a threatening expression.
Chief Walcott took one last look at the three of them, and turned on his heel, storming out of the pub.
‘Your cab’s here Olivia,’ Jackson told her, ‘it’s waiting outside.’
She slid out of the booth, limping slightly as she got her balance, and put her arms around Jackson, kissing his cheek fondly.
‘Thank you Jackson,’ she whispered in his ear.
‘No problem,’ he hugged her back, and held out his hand to Theo. ‘Nice to meet you Theo.’
‘You too,’ he murmured frowning.
They started towards the door, but halfway there Olivia yelped in surprise as Theo scooped her off her feet.
‘You were taking too long.’
Olivia laughed. ‘They’ll be talking about us for weeks.’
‘They would have been talking about us anyway,’ Theo shrugged.
Shelley opened the door for them, chuckling slightly as she watched them step out into the cold night air.
‘They make a cute couple,’ she turned to Jackson.
‘Aye,’ he grinned, ‘but I don’t think our Olivia’s figured that out yet. She’s a skittish one for sure; Theo will certainly have his work cut out for him.’
‘I hope they decide to stay in Mercy when all this is over.’
‘I’m sure they will,’ Jackson shrugged. ‘Olivia’s a lot tougher than she thinks, and in the meantime she’s got us to watch out for her.’
Shelley watched Jackson silently for a moment, and then leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek.
‘You’re a good man Jackson Murphy,’ she murmured, smiling as she walked away, missing the longing in Jackson’s eyes as she did.
Theo dropped Olivia gently to her feet on the curb, beside the car. Mindful of her injured ankle, he opened the door for her. Her gaze tracked over his shoulder as she paused, one hand resting on the open door.
‘He’s watching us.’
Theo didn’t need her to elaborate, he could tell who she meant by the tone of her voice. But right now he didn’t give a damn about the Chief, or his agenda.
‘Then let him watch,’ Theo replied as he grasped Olivia by the waist, and tugged her body to his.
Olivia gasped as his lips crashed down on hers, giving him the opening he needed to taste her. She moaned at the touch of his tongue, sliding her hands into his silky dark hair, and tugging gently. He pressed her back against the opening of the car, needing more.
A throat clearing, and an embarrassed cough, finally broke them apart as they stared at each other, breathing heavily.
‘You getting in then?’ the cab driver asked.
‘Sorry,’ Olivia climbed in and slid across the seat, making room for Theo.
Theo was quiet on the way home, seemingly brooding on something. He barely said a word when they arrived back at the house, nor when they dropped their jackets in the hall. Olivia limped into the library and dropped down on the sofa. Bending down, she took her sneakers and socks off, wriggling her toes in obvious relief.
The fireplace burst happily into flame at Olivia’s presence, as it usually did. Theo stopped in front of the mantle, and stared down into the flames thoughtfully.
‘What is between you and Jackson?’ Theo asked after a few moments of brooding silence.
‘Is that what’s wrong with you?’ Olivia asked in amusement.
He said nothing, he simply turned his dark eyes on her and watched.
Olivia hauled herself off the sofa, shuffling closer until she was standing toe to toe with him, looking up at him.
‘There’s nothing between me and Jackson,’ she smiled, ‘he’s in love with Shelley. It’s painfully obvious to anyone with eyes, except maybe Shelley.’
‘And if he wasn’t in love with Shelley?’
‘There would still be nothing between us. He’s a friend that’s all,’ she answered softly, ‘besides…’
She pressed her body closer to him, and watched as his pupils dilated, and his jaw tensed.
‘He’s not the one I want,’ she murmured, grazing the corded muscles of his exposed forearms with her fingertips.
She smiled as she rose on tiptoes, being careful to take most of her weight on her good ankle. Scratching her nails softly, and playfully across his chest so he could feel it catch his nipples through his shirt, she moved cl
oser, and rubbed her lips against his mouth.
‘Be very careful Olivia,’ he warned, his voice low, and hungry, ‘you’re playing with fire.’
Her eyes flashed gold, the fire roared in the hearth, and every single candle in the room simultaneously burst into flame.
‘I thought we’d already established,’ she whispered against his mouth, ‘that I like playing with fire.’
And then his mouth was on hers, demanding, and insistent. The second his arms went around her, he lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. Her fingers tangled in his hair, the way he liked, as they simply devoured each other. She couldn’t get enough of the wild taste of him, as she plunged her tongue into his mouth and bit down on his lip.
He spun around and dropped down onto the sofa, pulling her forward to straddle him. The moment his hands were free, he grasped the bottom of her shirt and yanked it over her head, discarding it ungraciously on the floor. He broke his mouth away from hers long enough to look down at her lace covered breasts.
‘What is this?’ he breathed hard, his fingers tracing the edges of transparent black lace.
‘It’s a bra,’ she smiled, pressing another kiss to his lips.
He eased back, and looked down again. Her full breasts were cupped lovingly by the thin see-through fabric, revealing her hard rosy colored nipples through the lace.
‘I like it,’ he murmured fascinated.
She felt him harden even more between her thighs, and she moaned, unconsciously grinding herself against him.
‘Theo please,’ she gasped against his mouth, as he took her under again with another deep drugging kiss.
She’d never felt so needy in her life, like she would die if she didn’t have him inside her, hot, hard, and furious, to ease the vicious pressure building in her core.
His mouth trailed fire across her skin as he kissed the long line of her neck, down to her collar bone, to close his lips over her hardened nipple, sucking through the thin material.
She found herself rocking in his lap, in sync with the long luxuriant pulls of his mouth. She moved to unclasp her bra so he could get to her bare skin, but his hands closed over hers, pulling her arms behind her back and pinning her in place.
‘No,’ he smiled against her swollen lips, ‘leave it.’
He tossed her down onto the sofa, unbuttoning her jeans, and dragging them down her legs, as she watched him with flushed skin and heavy eyes. He discarded the jeans negligently, as he had with her shirt, and as he stared down at the tiny little matching black lace panties, his mouth watered. His thumbs strummed languidly over the fabric, making her arch helplessly into his hands.
‘Theo,’ his name fell from her lips in a breathy curse, as he pulled away abruptly, and stripped the panties from her body.
Olivia grasped him by his shirt, and pulled him up her body, pausing only long enough to pull it over his head, and toss it away. She leaned up and took his mouth, as her hands slid down his hard stomach, and pulled open the buttons of his jeans. Reaching inside, she grasped him gently, and stroked.
He took her lips again, moaning helplessly, as he rocked in her soft willing hands.
‘Olivia,’ he gasped fighting to hold onto his control, ‘I need to be inside you.’
She released him, grasping his jeans and pushing them, and his boxers down. He pulled away just long enough to kick himself free of the rest of his clothes before being pulled back into her waiting arms.
‘Is this what you want?’ he breathed against her lips.
She could feel the scorching heat of his skin pressing between her thighs, as his hands ran along the soft silken skin of her arms. Grasping her hands, their fingers interlocking, he stretched her arms back over her head, and pinned them down, forcing her back to arch and her breasts to press against the firm ridges of his chest. The light dusting of his hair teased her already oversensitive nipples.
‘Tell me what you want my love, and you can have it,’ his voice was low, and seductive, and it coiled deep inside her, making the ache worse.
‘I want…you’ she whispered.
His eyes locked with hers, watching them deepen to the most entrancing shade of gold he had ever seen, as he sank into her, stretching her deliciously as she felt every single inch of him.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn’t breathe. She’d never felt so full, and thought he’d gone as far as he could, but he tensed up, and sank deeper. Her body trembled hard, and when he rolled his hips against her, she found she couldn’t control herself, as she clamped down on the delicious intrusion.
The moment he felt her inner muscles grip him like a velvet lined vice, his control snapped. With a deep growl he pulled out, and plunged back in. From that point on it was a battle, a primitive claiming on the most basic level. Olivia bit down on his shoulder making him pound into her harder, her nails raking across his skin, clawing at him to pull him closer.
He released her hands, and grasped one of her thighs wrapping it high at his waist so he could drive deeper, his other hand tangling in her gorgeous dark hair, dragging her head back so he could feast on her neck. A sudden cry tore from her throat as her climax ripped through her, devastating in its intensity.
Feeling her grip him even tighter in her orgasm, sent him wild, and he drove deeper into her. Somehow they both managed to roll off the sofa, and onto the floor. Theo turned at the last moment to break her fall. Still joined, and breathing hard, his lips found hers in a surprisingly soft, slow, and deeply intimate kiss.
‘Theo,’ she breathed into his mouth.
His movements slowed as her mood changed, and he thrust into her slower, and deeper, swallowing her moans, and sighs. With her now laid out over him, she rolled her hips, and ground against him. He watched her with dark eyes while she rocked against him, slowly, savouring each sound he made.
When he finally couldn’t take anymore, he rolled her onto her back and thrust deeply, grasping her hips so tightly he left fingerprints in her skin. She gasped desperately, she was so close, and with one final deep rock of his hips her orgasm exploded, clamping down on him so hard he had no choice but to follow. He buried his face in her neck, and moaned, burying himself deeply into her body as he came hard, spilling himself inside her, marking her as his in the most primal way.
For a while they stayed that way, slightly stunned, and breathing heavily, their bodies trembling with the intensity of what they had just experienced. After a while Theo rolled away from her, and pulled the soft chenille throw from the sofa, tucking her into his arms, and covering her shivering body tenderly. Neither of them spoke, perhaps because neither of them knew what to say.
Olivia lay in his arms, her ear pressed to his chest listening to his slowing heartbeat. She stared into the flames of the fire, listening as his breathing evened out into the slow rhythm of a peaceful sleep. But sleep came harder for her, and as the sheer enormity of what she had just experienced came crashing in on her, like a wave, her heartbeat picked up in pace, this time in fear.
She was falling so hard, and so fast, and she was afraid that this time…there would be nothing to break her fall.
16.
Olivia cracked one eye open against the pale morning light filtering in through the window, fumbling across the rug for her jeans as her ring tone blared out again. Theo grunted as she accidentally elbowed him in the stomach. Pulling her phone from the pocket of her jeans she hit connect.
‘Lo,’ she mumbled, listening to the reply, ‘Kay.’
She ended the call, and dropped the phone, snuggling back into Theo and pulling the throw up to her chin as she shivered.
Theo wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer into his warm body.
‘Who was that?’ he murmured into her hair.
‘Jake,’ she yawned, ‘he’s on his way over.’
She was met with silence.
‘We should move,’ she nudged him.
‘M
mm,’ he hummed, his voice filled with sleep.
‘Theo,’ she smiled, poking him in the ribs.
‘Mmm,’ he replied starting to snore again lightly.
Grinning mischievously she jumped to her feet, snatching up the throw, and dancing out of reach, as Theo made a grab for it.
‘God dammit Liv,’ he shivered, ‘it’s freezing in here.’
She frowned momentarily as she tucked the throw around her naked body. He’d never shortened her name before. It was just another layer of intimacy she wasn’t ready for, another reminder of how much things had changed last night, and a hard ball of discomfort suddenly sat like lead in her stomach.
Glancing over at the banked fire she cast a disapproving look, and the fire suddenly burst back into flame, bobbing, and dancing drunkenly, almost managing to look ashamed of itself.
Theo stood, and dragged his jeans on, leaving the top button undone as he yawned while raking a hand through his tousled hair.
God, even with bed hair, and early morning stubble he still looked fucking delicious. A curl of lust raised its head but Olivia ruthlessly squashed it. They were never going to achieve anything if they ended up naked every time she looked at him, but dammit she wanted him again. Everything they had done last night only made her crave him even more.
‘Keep looking at me like that Livy and Jake is going to find us in a very compromising position when he arrives,’ he raised an eyebrow in challenge.
‘I can’t help it,’ she shrugged as casually as she could manage. ‘I enjoyed myself last night, it was fun.’
‘Fun?’ Theo repeated slowly.
‘Yes,’ she smiled innocently. ‘Last night was exactly what I needed. I’ve been so stressed lately, there’s nothing like really good sex to help you forget your troubles and relax.’
‘Well, I’m glad I could be of service,’ his eyes narrowed.
Olivia didn’t miss the tone of his voice, nor its meaning, but it was better she lay her cards on the table now, to avoid complications later on down the line. After all, she just wasn’t built for a long term commitment to someone, and it was best that he understood that.
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 28
